The Fill-In
by WritingWithReason
Summary: Ally had it all planned. College. Best friend/roommate. Boyfriend; that is, until he decided to dump her right before her senior prom. Now with her friends waiting to meet her mysterious boyfriend, she was in need of a plan. Fast. Luckily, it came fast enough. Her task for him was simple: be her fill-in boyfriend. Just two hours. The problem? She can't stop thinking about him after
1. Call It a Small Favor

**What, a new story? Yeah, I know I should be finishing my other one first (although it just got started), but I just had to write this.**

 **This fan fiction is based on the novel,** _ **The Fill-In Boyfriend**_ **by Kasie West. It won't be exactly the same, as in word for word like I did with** _ **Oh Paris!**_ **, but there will be several quotes that are from the book. So, the story is being sort of rewritten in the way it would fit Austin & Ally. **

**Note: This is an AU. Not exactly everything will be just as it is in the show.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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 _ **Chapter One: Call It a Small Favor**_

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You know that feeling you get when you're in a situation where you just have to keep your head held high and walk away with most of your dignity left? That moment of slight desperation and no logic whatsoever. That feeling of uselessness and guilt of not being able to stop it from happening. I wanted to get rid of that feeling and leave with my moral still high. But that my body would not cooperate.

I held onto his waist as he tried to loosen my hold, but it only made me tighten my anaconda death grip. Out of all the days he could have done this, he chose today. _Today_. In the parking lot, for goodness sake. Right before we were about to go inside. Why does the universe hate me?

"Ally, c'mon. I have to go." He attempted to gently push my shoulders away. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" I looked up from his chest. "You're _'sorry'_? I understand how bad this might look, but please don't do this now. And if you have to, can't it wait two hours?"

He sighed. "The fact that you said that makes me know it can't. You only care about your friends seeing me."

"What? That's not all I care about!" Okay, it was slightly true. Kira, the latest addition to my group of friends, had been grilling me about whether or not I had made up my boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend now. Well, she wasn't exactly my 'friend' per say; she just basically made it her life's mission to make a fool out of me. As of two months ago, she believed that I merely made him up. And now, she's on the run to 'expose' my lie. Now, you can see why I needed him to go inside with me; so that she didn't use this to divide up our group of friends.

But seriously, that wasn't the only reason I wanted Gavin to come with me inside. I really liked him… _liked_ as in before he decided to break up with me the moment before we walked into my senior prom. With the slight change of plan with the whole jerk card, I just needed him to walk in with me, prove that he wasn't some random guy off the street, maybe sock Kira in the gut once, and then walk out of here. That's all I asked for. What was so difficult about it?

"That's not all I cared about…" I said softly, trying to hold back the tears brimming in my eyes. _'Don't show any sign of sadness.'_ Although, I was clinging-on-for-dear-life-five-minutes-ago.

"It really is. The first thing you said was 'My friends are going to freak!'. Seriously, Ally? That was the first thing you said to me after two weeks without seeing each other. How am I supposed to feel about it?" Gavin crossed his arms.

I probably sounded like a whiney baby right now to him. "Gavin, please," I thought back to less than twenty minutes ago. Yes, okay, maybe the way I said it sounded wrong, but in all honesty, he looked very charming and handsome tonight. Pardon me for thinking that he looked lovely in a suit and yes, I might have wanted to show my friends how good he looked. Where was the fire with that?

"Plus, the whole way here, you were telling me how to act when we get inside, how to even look at you when your friends are around-"

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm a little controlling…"

"A little?"

"Okay, _a lot_. But I'm only like that when I'm about half as nervous as I already am. You could only imagine how much of a control freak I am when I'm insanely anxious." I let out a nervous laugh, hoping he would be somewhat understanding.

Gavin reached for the back of his neck to give it a rub. "I should really get going now."

A car had driven past and pulled up next to the main entrance to the gym. A couple exited from the backseat. I didn't recognize them, so I returned my attention to Gavin.

"It's a long drive back to Tampa." He fumbled with his car keys.

I gave a low sigh. "Fine. But can you at least yell at me or something?" I uncrossed my folded arms and looked up at him. "I hate that you're so sweet about this." And he really was being nice about it. I mean, he was Gavin. He told me once that his grandmother had spent two weeks 'training' him on how to respect women and he did, which was one of the main reasons he was so great.

He chuckled slightly. "Alright. But really, Ally, you should go in there. You look beautiful." Gavin cleared his throat. "You're a shallow, inconsiderate, immature little girl! You deserve to walk in there, with no one by your side!"

I knew it was what I had asked for, but I'll be honest, it kind of hurt a little. " _I'm_ the inconsiderate one? _You're_ the one that dumps girls the moment before their prom! Just get out of here, you jerk!" I replied, keeping up with our little role play.

He smiled slightly before getting in his car and starting the engine. Gavin, my now ex-boyfriend, drove off into the night. My stomach tightened as I scanned my surroundings. There I was, in the middle of the parking lot of my school, about to head into my senior prom. I was thankful that my friends were already inside…and were waiting to meet the two month boyfriend I had built up and no longer existed. I huffed a frustrated sigh and tried to contain my anger riling up inside me as I leaned back against a washed-out blue truck.

I looked around and noticed a guy sitting in the front seat of the car across from me. I quickly stood up straighter, fixing my slouched position and my dress. Great. Even a total stranger witnessed my little episode. He returned his gaze away from me.

What was a guy doing sitting in his car? He lifted up his cell phone (or iPod, not exactly sure) and inserted a pair of ear buds into his ears. He was listening to music? Sitting in his car in a high school parking lot listening to music? I'm not one to judge, but I'd rather be else where than just sitting there in the dark. Then it hit me: that couple that I saw getting out of the backseat. He must have dropped them off. A younger sibling, maybe.

I watched him as he scrolled through his play lists, kind of creepy I know, and observed his features. Blonde hair, sun-kissed tan skin. He was probably at least, I don't know, six feet-judging by the fact that his head was slightly higher than the headrest of his seat. He wasn't even the type that I usually went for-hair somewhat shaggy (it kind of flopped right in front of his eyes in just the right way), a little on the messy side, and he would lick his lips every so often-but he was going to do. I walked up to his window. ' _Beatles. The 1975. WALK THE MOON. I approve on his music choice.'_ I tapped on his window and he slowly lifted his head. It took him even longer to roll down his window.

"Hi." I smiled at him.

"Hey."

"Do you by chance go to Marino?" If he said yes, this wouldn't work. The chances of people recognize him were high.

"Huh?"

"Do you go here?" I repeated, still smiling.

"Um, no. We just moved here, but I'm just finishing the year at my old school."

Perfect. They were new here. "Welcome. Uh, are you dropping off your brother?"

"My sister."

"Great. Perfect even."

His eyebrow rose and he unplugged his ear buds.

"You're my date tonight."

"What?" His lips parted, but no other words escaped.

"Do you live near by? Because this is kind of a black-tie event. And you can't really go in with ripped jeans and a t-shirt with some rocker on it."

His eyes darted from his shirt and then back to me. "'Some rocker'? Seriously? You're saying you don't like my Cobain shirt?"

"It's not that I don't like it. It's just…do you have dark pants at least? Or maybe even a nice button down? And shoes that aren't Converse or sneakers? A tie? If you have a teal tie then I'd think you were magical, but a simple black one would suffice." I scanned his persona. Not really my type. Even my friends would notice. "I peg you for a guy that likes to use hair product, yes?"

Both his eyebrows were now raised and he looked at me like I was insane. Which is no lie, probably. "Okay, I'm just going to roll up the window now…"

"No, wait!" I begged, holding up my hands. "Please? I'm sure you saw what happened just a few minutes ago. My boyfriend just broke up with me and walking inside alone to your senior prom when you were planning on having someone by your side is really lowering on your self-esteem. And my friends already think he's just imaginary. It's a long story, but I just need you to fill in as him. Just for two hours. I promise. That's all I'm asking-begging for. Plus, you're just sitting here waiting for your sister." His sister. I forgot about her. What if she saw us inside? We'll just have to avoid her…or tell her. Not so sure on that yet. "It'd be way more fun than sitting and waiting in a dark parking lot. If I were you, I'd be terrified."

The guy eyed me as if I had just lost an arm or a brain. "You're asking me to be Superman?" He pointed towards the empty street.

At first, I was confused. Then, I realized he was referring to Gavin. "They won't even know. They've never met him. And besides, you're…" I racked my brain for a different superhero to compare him to. He definitely was no Superman. He was more on the lean, muscular side, rather than buff/meaty. Maybe Robin? I don't know. Robin was a sidekick for a while so it might not be considered a compliment to him.

He just sat there, staring at me, waiting for one of us to say something more.

"I can pay you, if you want."

He let out a small chuckle. "I'm pretty sure they have other people for that kind of stuff. Try 1-800-HOOKERS or something. Maybe they'll have someone for you.

I rolled my eyes, but held the smile that appeared. "You've got that number memorized, don't you? I'm sure you're familiar with it."

A simple laugh came from him.

"If you don't want money, then I'll just owe you."

"Owe me what?"

"I don't know…I guess if you ever needs a fake date or something, I've got your back."

"Pretty sure I'm not one to go off on needing fake dates."

"Well, I'm glad that you can acquire a real date these days, but as you can see, at the moment, I'm kind of in a pickle and can't. I mean, usually that's not a problem, but the middle of a parking lot isn't exactly the place you'd sign up for one." I joked.

"You know, you talk a lot for such a small girl."

"So I've been told," I shrugged.

"Fine."

"Come on, please? I usually don't go around-wait, what? Fine?" I was surprised although I was practically begging him deep down to say yes. No fake tears required.

"Yeah. I live five blocks from here. I'll go change into something more…suit-and-tie event worthy," Rolling up the window, he turned on the car and muttered something about how he can't believe he was actually doing this. I smiled triumphantly to myself and watched his car drive out of the lot.

He probably thought it was the only way he could get out of just sitting there the whole night. Wait…if he lived only five blocks away, why was he waiting here? He could've driven home…or even somewhere else rather than just wait in the parking lot.

Five minutes had passed and I pulled out my phone to check Tweeter and Instapic to see if Gavin had posted anything about the break up. Not to my surprise, there was nothing. He wasn't much for social media anyway. But this was good.

Another ten minutes passed and I started coming up with excuses just as a Plan B…or C. He got sick. He had to study for his finals on Monday…I was pathetic.

Plan C. The truth. I needed to tell the truth. Gavin broke up with me. In a parking lot. Gavin broke up with me in the parking lot on the night of prom. Having some random guy pretend to be him would add to Kira's bucket of evidence to kick me away from my friends for good.

I sighed in defeat, throwing my head back. I faced the gym doors and took a deep breath. Real or hired, I didn't need a date. My friends liked me for who I was and a guy wouldn't sever anything. At least, that's what I told myself. I would not let myself lose a boyfriend and my friends all in the same hour. Unlike Gavin, my friends were people I couldn't live without.

As I started walking towards the doors, my shadow appeared as a pair of headlights appeared from behind me. I turned around, using my hand to block the lights as they blinded me, and the car was shut off.

The blonde stepped out of the car. "Were you really going to just go in there without me after all that begging?"

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 **That's the first chapter! It was actually longer than I thought it would be. I had planned to add more but I feel like it's a good place to leave off on the first chapter. Don't want to have too much in a chapter, especially the one that starts the whole story.**

 **I know Ally may seem a little…whiney BUT she won't be throughout the story. She was just…desperate here. But wouldn't we all be? No? Okay then.**

 **Also, I have about half of Chapter 3 of Broken Lyrics done! I'll upload as soon as I can.**

 **Review for me? Tell me what you think! Should I continue?**

 **xoxo**


	2. Meet Gavin

**Thank you for all the awesome reviews! I'm so glad you like the plot as much as I do! There's much more in store for the story!**

 **My plan is to update at least once a week. Let's see if I can stick to that plan xD**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognize in the story.**

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 _ **Chapter Two: Meet "Gavin"**_

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He came back. Not that I doubted him…okay, maybe I did a little bit. I couldn't stop the smile that appeared on my face. There he was, in a suit and tie. He was tall and his hair was neater but still on the messy side.

This was perfect. We'd go inside and be seen as a 'couple'. Then at the end of the night, we'd break up and leave things at that. No smug glances from Kira, no pity shoulder pats from Piper, and no Ally-I-know-you're-lying head tilts from Trish. It was close to my original plan…in a way. My fill-in guy had just rearranged the order just a bit. I wasn't exactly telling a big lie, so no harm, right? Especially if it kept the quarter-evil Kira out of my hair for the rest of the year.

"Hi," I said as I approached his car. His door wasn't fully shut and he had the look in his eyes that said that he wasn't completely buckled up for this whole plan just yet. "You look amazing." But when I got closer, his hair was messier than I thought.

"Hold on," I looked up at him, considering he towered over me. "can you sit down for a sec?" He raised an eyebrow as he sat in the front seat. I scanned his hair for a quick second and started to rearrange his hair. In the parking lot lights, his hair looked blonder than it originally looked. When I finally got his bangs hanging off the side of his forehead, I smiled and gave a satisfied nod. "I gotta say, you clean up well. And fast too."

He gave a small chuckle and sigh. "Let's get this over with."

He offered an elbow and I looped my own with his. Muscular, nice. I began to pull him towards the gym doors.

"Whoa, whoa, there shorty. Hold on," He pulled me back abruptly, making my entire being jerk to a halt, which was not as much fun in these heels. "If we're actually going in there, a little back story would be helpful. You're trying to convince your friends we actually know each other, right?"

"Oh, yeah. That'd be a good idea." I laughed nervously.

"How 'bout a name?"

 _'Great work.'_ I laughed. I haven't even told him my name yet. "Ally Dawson. Eighteen. Senior at the lovely Marino High. I'm in the Cloud-Watching Club, Book Club, and Time-Management Club. Oh, and the student council. I also don't typically beg for dates. As in, I never have before today."

"I can see."

"And for the next two hours or so, you are Gavin Young. Junior at Tampa University, which is why my parents do not exactly give us the thumbs up. They think you're too old for me." I explained and added a casual eye roll.

"Right. I am," He said.

At that response, I didn't really know if he was talking about himself or Gavin. But earlier he did mention him still being in high school…I think? "How old are you exactly?"

"Let's see…if I'm a junior in college then that would make me at least, what? Twenty-one?"

He was talking about Gavin. I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Yes. But that's only four years."

"Which technically wouldn't be such a shocker if you weren't still…y'know. In high school. And underage."

"Age is overrated anyway. Besides, four more weeks and I wouldn't be in high school. You're starting to sound like my parents." I teased as I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow.

He let out a small shrug. "Sounds to me like they've got good parenting skills."

"Eh, no matter. At the end of the night, you'll break up with me. Where my friends can see it, preferably. Just a quick and quiet break up. Then, like the real Gavin, you can walk out of here and everything will be…" I felt a lump in my throat building up as I pictured Gavin earlier as he got in his car and drove away. I pushed the image away and offered the tall blonde a smile. "Over."

"Think I can manage and handle that."

"Great. So…about your sister? Not to sound rude or anything, but she's not going to blow our cover right? Running across the gym, screaming your name?"

"Nah, she won't expect me to be there. And plus, she's really into her date. She goes wild for drummers and all that jazz. But if she so-happens to see us, I'll make sure to fill her in where your friends won't see and start suspecting something. She'll play along. She's cool."

"Could you text her? You know, just in case?"

"I would, but slight problem. I forgot my phone in my jeans while I was changing," He patted his pockets, indicating that he wasn't joking.

"She'll be cool?" I repeated slowly.

"She'll be cool."

"Alrighty then. I think we're all good to go."

His lips formed a smirk as if I had completely missed something.

"What?"

"Nothing. C'mon." He reached for my hand this time, lacing our fingers as he took a slow, confident stride towards the gym doors. Call me crazy, but it almost seemed…natural for our hands.

Once we passed the doors, I had handed our tickets to the chaperones behind the table and we made our way to the main room. The music was exceptionally loud. The band was semi-knew. I mean, the whole school had known about them, but they seemed like one of those starter-garage bands, so they were decent, but not exactly the best. They had won the auditions that we held about two months prior to tonight, best out of all the others. The previous year, a more popular local band played, but with unfortunate cuts, this was all the budget could afford, according to Mr. Conley.

I saw my group of friends across the room with their dates, standing at a high table. I closed my eyes and inhaled a huge amount of air, praying to conjure up all of my not-so-professional acting skills. When I lied or pretended, my voice would turn an octave higher, so I'm hoping tonight was an exception. My fill-in boyfriend, however, was neither trembling nor hyperventilating like I was. But why would he? He had nothing to lose.

"My sister is dancing right now, so I'd say we're in the clear for a while," he said.

Following his gaze, I spotted a girl in a light pink dress-the skirt was all puffy with the amount of layers it had. She was pretty-blonde hair like his, friendly face with a small amount of make-up. I racked my memory of trying to figure out who she was, but my mind was blank. I was pretty convinced that I had never seen her before. She was probably younger than me. He did say that they had recently moved here, so 'recently' was more recent than I thought. I hadn't recognized her date either.

"Okay, so how good is your 'madly-in-love' face?"

"Were you and Superman 'madly-in-love'?" He raised his eyebrow, slightly amused.

My first instinct was to reply with 'of course!', but we'd both known that that was a lie. Gavin and I were…we were happy. Or at least, I thought we _were_. I shook off the feeling and put on a teasing smile. "Do you not have a reference point for that emotion?"

He looked away for a moment, concentrating before turning his face back to me with a smoldering gaze and his eyes connected with mine. _Whoa_. He was good.

"Um, not to be picky and all, but that seems a bit thick. It kind of looks like you're trying to laser through my head."

His gaze instantly softened and it was then when I noticed his eyes. Hazel with little flecks of gold and green around the iris. Crap. Gavin had blue eyes.

"That bad, huh?"

"N-no! It's great. The look is great." Meaning, he did know what being in love was like. It was actually me who had no reference point. "Your eye color is frustrating, though."

"Don't know whether to take that as a compliment or…"

"I'm sorry. I'm sure girls say that they're extremely dreamy and all," Which was very true. "It's just…"

"Gavin had emerald green eyes? Oh no wait, sapphire blue eyes?"

I laughed as he melodramatically clutched his chest. "Yes. Ones that could make you melt."

He met my eyes. "Like yours."

"Well, my eyes are brown and his are blue, but…" I shook my head, trying to get back to my train of thought. Rambling again. "Just try not to make eye contact with anyone."

"Yeah, because that won't be creepy. I'll just stare at the ground as I tell them about my latest college project," He chuckled and I found myself doing the same. "Your friends really remember the color of his eyes? Did you talk about them _that_ much?"

"No, not really. I mean, they've seen a few pictures."

"Hold up, they've seen pictures?" His eyes widened. "And how do you think we're going to get away with this?"

"Relax, they were from a distance. Once of them was even half of his face," Much to my frustration, Gavin wasn't really all that keen in taking pictures. "It's been a while since they saw him. Since your hair is slightly longer, it'll make sense. And I think you share a similar likeness that it'll work. Just work on the no-eye-contact thing; don't make it as creepy."

He lifted our ( _still_ )laced hands, kissed it, and gave me his smoldering stare, "I only have eyes for you anyway."

I giggled. He was _really_ good. "I see my friends. Let's go."

"Wait, so, if your friends have seen pictures, how come they think I don't exist?" He asked as we swerved through the dancing bodies.

"Because you go to Tampa University and I was the one coming to see you. And when you were in town, you wanted to spend time together, alone, and not with my friends."

"So, I'm a snob. Noted."

"I never said that."

"When you came over, did we hang out with my friends?"

"No. With hardly seeing each other as is, we didn't want to deal with other people when we did." I explained.

"Ah, so you were my secret."

"Not exactly. That's how I wanted it, too. And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't drive a few hours to my school prom if you didn't want to meet my friends," It was weird to be talking as if he really was Gavin. I shook my head. "If _he_ didn't want to meet my friends."

"And yet, _he_ broke up with you right before he actually did."

I reached for my hair, nervously, but realized I couldn't because it was up in a bun that my mother had spent hours trying to create. Ten steps and we were in front of the group, so I had no time to tell him how poorly I reacted to Gavin. Two weeks without seeing each other and the first thing I thought about was how my friends were going to react. It was because he looked amazing. But I shouldn't have said that. I should've said that he looked amazing instead. I shouldn't have been all wrapped up with what my friends were going to think. I shouldn't have let Kira get inside my skin like I did.

Trish was the first person to notice me and her eyes lit up in relief as her gaze met my date. Trish had been my best friend since kindergarten, so she was always the one defending me. She might have been small, but it was nearly impossible to break through her tough personality. I loved her for it, though. "Ally!" With her exclamation, everyone else turned.

The look on Kira's face was priceless. First there was her usual smug grin, but then it dropped along with her jaw. For once, Piper didn't have her pity-frown on her face. I felt myself smile a huge smile.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Gavin."

He lifted his hand in a small wave and I couldn't tell if it was to be funny or unintentional, but when he said "Nice to finally meet you all," his voice was low and husky.

Trish's eyes widened at me and she gave me her way-to-go-Ally grin.

Meanwhile, Kira's smug grin returned and I braced myself for her to speak up about how he looked nothing like the pictures or that he wasn't the usual type I dated. But instead she said, "Y'know, I'm surprised you wanted to go to a silly old high school prom."

He looked straight into my eyes and his hand slipped down my back, hooking around my waist, "It was important to Ally." With his words leaving his lips, he pulled me closer to his side, my back tingling to his touch. My first instinct was to jerk away, but I realized that that would instantly end our roleplay. I would have leaned into Gavin. I would have happily sighed. So, I did both.

Kira smirked. "I'm guessing that's the theme of your whole relationship? 'The importance of Ally'?" She actually did air quotes. Yup. She was out to incinerate me.

Trent, Kira's date, started laughing but was quieted abruptly by one of the other guys smacking him on the back of the head.

"No," my date responded before I could get the chance. "But maybe it should be."

They all laughed, but I was too busy mentally throwing daggers at Kira to even chuckle.

"Now, please excuse us, but my lady and I are going to dance." my date said.

And with that, he led me to the dance floor. It was then when I realized that I didn't even know his name. Was that why he smirked at me right before we came inside? So when the guy-whose-name-I-didn't-know snaked his arm around my waist, I leaned into his chest and whispered, "Sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Fill-in Gavin asked.

"I didn't even ask what your real name was, yet."

He let out a low chuckle that I felt through his chest. Then he leaned in close so that his breath tickled my ear when he said, "My name is Gavin."

I slightly gasped. "Seriously?"

He scrunched up his nose, smiling, as he shook his head. "Nah, I'm a method actor. I become the person."

"You're an actor?" That shouldn't really surprise me. He obviously had a natural talent.

He looked up, thinking. "Huh, didn't know that about myself. You didn't tell me that before."

I lightly hit his chest with a laugh. "Stop."

I watched his eyes glance over my head-he towered over me a good six inches or so-toward where my friends were still talking. "Some friends you have there."

"They're mostly nice. Kira's just the one constantly trying to murder me in my sleep."

"Why?"

"Honestly, I have no clue," I sighed. "I think she thinks that I'm the Harry of our house and that there's only room for one without resorting to prettifying each other."

"I'm going to take your weird Harry Potter analogy and guess that she wants to be the leader of your group."

"Hey, you still got my reference." I shrugged and gazed across the room as Kira hooked her arm through Trish's and said something to her. "It's the only think I can think of. You can thank or blame her because she's the reason I needed you here tonight. She already thinks I'm lying to everyone on a daily basis. I didn't want her to conjure up more information. She's able to find some anyway without me offering my head on a silver platter."

He raised his eyebrows-something he liked to do a lot. Yes, I took notice. "So if she found out you've been lying…"

"Yeah, I know. That's exactly what I'm doing now and wasn't doing before. But she thought I was. And if you didn't walk through those doors with me, she would've carved out my heart and placed it in a box in her secret vault by now."

"You don't trust your other friends enough not to let her do that?"

"I trust them. But she'd been working on this for two months. For two months, she gathered up all she could. She really thought she caught me and could expose me. I needed tonight."

"So," he said 'so' a lot, too. "if you really were the 'Harry' of your group, why haven't you kicked her out of it?"

That question ran through my mind more times than I could remember. One possible answer was that I personally didn't think I was in charge, as much as she thought I did. But secretly, deep down, my real answer would be that I was paranoid that if I _did_ make everyone choose, they'd pick her. I was terrified that no matter how much effort I put in, how much confidence I showed, people didn't like me deep down. And they probably had the right not to. But I didn't tell him that. I couldn't. I hardly knew the guy and he already knew more of my weaknesses than some of my friends did. "Because I'm not hardcore evil."

"What?"

"Sometimes, I'd call Kira 'the Evil Queen', the Regina George, you could say. But that's the thing…I promised myself that I wouldn't be that girl. The one that kicked out people she didn't like or cut out their face and tape it into a Burn Book. I've always been the kind of girl that wanted everyone to get along. I was hoping we could make some peace treaty or stand on neutral ground." I had always hated causing trouble, so these reasons were true. I just wanted us all to get along.

"You really like analogies, don't you?"

"Just a bit. Words are powerful."

He tilted his head slightly, as if impressed or intrigued by that answer. "But, I still don't get it. If they've seen pictures of you and him, how come they didn't believe you?"

I laughed humorously. "Because there's hardly any of them. Considering how we barely had time to spend together, we didn't exactly have the capability to start a scrapbook. We have-had-a long distance relationship. So Kira thinks that I pulled some random guy off of the street to pose for a few pictures with me."

This time, he laughed. "I'm pretty sure she would never think of that as a solution."

My face flushed, turning my cheeks pinker than the blush that was already on them. I looked at the ground sheepishly. "Yeah. Yeah." It was pathetic that I had to bring in a fake date tonight. One that I wouldn't have had to bring if my actual boyfriend hadn't broken up with me.

"You okay? Are you upset about the whole Superman thing?"

I took a deep breath through my nose, making sure that my voice wouldn't come out shakey. "Nope. I'm fine. It wasn't that serious, anyway. It was only a two month, long-distance relationship. Nothing big." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.

He had gone quiet for so long that I looked up at him to see if he was still listening. I wouldn't have blamed him if he stopped. But my eyes met his. They were searching for something that I wasn't sure I had. The ballad had ended and a much faster one began. "So. Your name is?"

"Nope. Can't have any slipups tonight. As far as you know, my real name is Gavin." He finally looked at me and I felt myself breathe again. He extended his hand and spun me around when I took it then pulled me back in to his chest, swaying to the beat.

"You're not half bad at this," I smiled.

"Dancing or acting?"

"Well, both, but I was talking about dancing."

"Luckily for you, you happen to be the fifth girl that has asked me to be her date to the prom. I had some practice."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Shut up."

"So, Ally Dawson?"

"Yes, nameless boy?"

He gave a breathy laugh. "I don't believe you offered me money for this. Do you just go around offering money in return for a random favor?"

"No, usually a smile works just fine," It amazed me at how hard I thought it was to talk to him in the parking lot.

"What kind of favors have you gotten so far?"

"Besides you in a suit?"

He glanced down at his clothes as if me saying it reminded him that he was actually wearing it. "Actually, this wasn't your smile's doing."

"Then why?" I was suddenly very curious. He had gone from attempting to roll up his window to agreeing to be my date in a blink of an eye.

"Ally!" I turned to where my name echoed from to see a girl with long brown hair waving at me. "I voted for you!" She motioned towards the stage to where a sparkly tiara stood on a pillow on a stool. I smiled at her and mouthed a simple thank you. I turned back to my date to find that his eyes were sparkling with amusement.

"What?" I asked, cautiously.

"I didn't realize that I was dancing with royalty."

"That's because you aren't," I giggled. "No one has been crowned yet, so that statement is completely false."

"Guess we should get back to your friends," He took my arm in his.

The others had moved from the standing table to an open one with chairs and were sitting around talking about leaving early and doing something more exciting. It was the 'more exciting' part they were trying to agree on. I glanced back at the stage, knowing that I couldn't leave until crowning was over. Kira didn't care, though. Which is why she wanted to leave so soon. Most likely because she was still bitter about not being nominated. Though she never admitted it out loud, it was pretty obvious. Her lips would curl every time it was mentioned.

"Sorry," Piper whispered when I reached her side. I wasn't exactly sure what she was saying sorry about…maybe the weeks of not believing me about Gavin? I slid around the backside of the table, never letting go of my date's hand. We were facing the dance floor.

Kira held up her phone. "Everyone huddle closer, I want to take a picture." We did, and when she got to three, I felt my fake date shift behind me more, probably using my head to block his face. Kira studied the picture but didn't bother asking for a retake. After she sat back down, she turned her attention to fill-in Gavin. "So, what do college guys do for fun? I mean, besides picking up little high school girls, of course."

Not a flinch. Probably because it didn't really apply to him. "Well, Ally and I are going to a party after this, but unfortunately, it's invite only so that's not very helpful to the group's plans. Is there an arcade or something you could all go to?" He made his tone the nicest one possible so it almost seemed like he was trying to be polite. But he placed his hand on my knee, squeezed it under the table, and I bit my lip to refrain from laughing. I could've hugged him for saying that to her. "I don't live around here, so I'm not sure what you guys would do for fun."

I swear Kira was like a bloodhound, her five senses activating at the first drop of blood. If she could be given a job when she's older, it would be as a detective. She picked up on every slight inconsistency of a story. "But you said you didn't live around here. How did you get invited to a party here?"

Fill-in Gavin was quick with his own response. "Never said that the party was around here." It was like watching a battle of the wits and wills because they both stared at each other. Kira was the first to look away and I took in a small sip of air in relief. I just needed to get through this night in one piece. If she was already sniffing around, looking for trouble, it was only a matter of time before she discovered that the guy sitting beside me with his arm around my chair wasn't who I was claiming he was.

My date must've seen the worry expression on my face because he leaned in with his I'm-so-in-love look we talked about earlier and brushed his lips softly against my cheek. I felt my throat tighten. Damn. He was a really good actor.

"Stop looking so worried," he whispered. "You'll blow our cover." He tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear. "Now giggle like I said something funny."

Which I did. It wasn't hard to do, but that was when I saw something on the dance floor that put a halt to my giddy laugh right in the middle of my throat. His sister. Staring straight at us.

* * *

 **Oooooh, snap crackle pop! They're in troubleeeeee.**

 **Holy fudge cakes this chapter was long! But I'm hoping you guys enjoyed it!**

 **Leave a review below and tell me what you think!**

 **xoxo**


	3. The 'Sort Of' Breakup Plan

She squinted her eyes, confused, then she leaned over to the guy next to her. She said something in his year and he looked over at us as he nodded in agreement. Seconds later, they both began to head our way.

"Uh oh," I tensed. "Incoming."

Fill-in Gavin's gaze followed mine and his mouth curved into a smile as if it wasn't a big deal. "Don't worry." He stood up and whispered into my ear. "I'll handle it." I wondered if I should, you know, follow him or just sit and watch. I chose the sit-here-and-watch option.

He reached his sister and she spoke first, pointing to his clothes every now and then. He replied calmly, probably explaining the current situation. Which seemed to not sit well with her because a millisecond later, her head whipped in my direction. There was a fire (of anger) in her eyes. Well, there goes being discrete.

Kira raised on of her perfectly shaped eyebrows and leaned over to me. "Is everything okay?" Of course she's the first one to notice. Here we go. This was it. This was the moment where everything blew up in my face. And it hasn't even been an hour. Just when I thought that I could get away with my last-minute back up plan. You know, I totally deserved this. Impulsiveness never gets me anywhere good these days. I had two options, tell the truth: Gavin broke up with me; I should've stuck with Option Number One. Everyone would've understood - minus Kira. They would have helped me get through it better than I was handling it. We would have done what we had done when Max Crawford broke up with Piper last year. But instead I chose to be insecure about my friends and picked Option Two.

I rose, gave her a long stare, and said, "I'm sure it's something you'll be happy to hear." I gave her no time to react before I strode over where he was slightly moving his sister away.

"Can we just talk about it outside? And not in here?" His voice said, gradually getting louder as I drew closer.

When I had caught up to them she turned to me and placed her hands on her hips. She seemed extremely familiar. The only problem was, with everything going on all at once, I couldn't think of where and why she looked familiar.

"No," She said. For a moment, I was confused. "How could you use my brother like this? He's a perfectly generous guy and he doesn't need anymore girls like you to utilize him for your own benefit and then drop him like a used tissue." Then she turned to the older blonde. "And you-"

"Audrey, you're over exaggerating. It was just that one."

"I'm really sorry," I chose to only look at him and not his currently steamed sister. "I didn't realize the severity of the stakes if we did get caught." Then I faced her. "You're absolutely right. Your brother is extremely kind and doesn't deserve being used."

She merely nodded, slightly surprised at how fast I agreed with her. She moved a loose hair from her face that fell as she yelled at me moments ago. "He is. He definitely doesn't need to deal with someone like you."

"Audrey, that's enough. You don't have to generalize people. You don't even know Ally." He was sweet for defending me like that. But I can handle my own. And like I said, I deserved every bit of it.

Audrey chuckled at this. "She told you that right? That she has no idea who I am? Oh God, that's gold."

"Wait, _do_ we know each other?" I truly believed that we had never met before, but her tone said otherwise. I studied her face and tried to match her with a name, location of first encounter, and/or any conversation that we could have possibly had-other than this one. Nothing.

"No," Audrey said. I went back to rattling my brain. Was I being rude? I mean, being in Student Council, Cloudwatching Club (though she didn't seem like the type), and a bunch of other leadership clubs, you'd think that I could at least recognize her and put a name with the face. I really needed to work on that skill. But in my defense, Marino was huge. A good two thousand students and sixty percent of the population was upperclassmen.

I pointed back to my table of friends. "I messed everything up. I'm really sorry. I'm going to make things right right now. They'll be told everything. The truth." Here I go. The big reveal. Turning on my heels, I found my friends staring at us from across the room. It was either going to be a hit or miss. As soon as I lifted my foot and it came in contact with the floor, a hand wrapped around my wrist and jerked me back.

"Wait, Ally, you don't have to do this." Fill-In Gavin's grip slightly tightened. "Don't do this. From what I just saw, you're right. Kira is practically a devil spawn. She will literally sacrifice you and dance on your grave after you tell them everything."

"That was very...dark," Audrey stared at her brother. "Although, I wouldn't disagree."

I shook my head and offered a small smile. "No, I have to do this. It's fine."

"But-"

"Trish has my back. Don't worry. I can't thank you enough for your help. You were beyond amazing out there," Though I had at least five inch heels on, I still had to stand on my toes to fully reach his face. I gently kissed his cheek before spinning around back to face my doom. I gave myself no time to change my mind.

I planned out exactly what I was going to say to the girls, prepared myself for complete and utter humiliation that Kira was about to unleash on me before I reached the table. I made eye contact with Trish, who held a glint of concern in hers. I replied a reassuring smile.

"You okay? Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"Um, actually no. I...I have something to tell you. Both of you," I said, looking from Trish to Piper.

"Ally, please don't do this. She means nothing to me." My head whipped around to see fill-in Gavin walking towards our table, with a desperate look spread across his face.

My voice was caught in my throat.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not what it looks like. Just let me explain. Please."

I swear, if I knew his actual name, it would've come out of my mouth at this very moment. But I didn't. So much for a low-key, mutual(ish) breakup. Now my "boyfriend" cheated on me and dumped me in front of half of the student body. Blood rushed to my cheeks due to the embarrassment. "Please, _Gavin,_ just stop. Don't do this. I'll be okay."

"Oh? You'll be all fine and dandy without me? Is that how you feel? You're asking me to pretend like this never happened. Like we never had anything between us? Like you never existed in my life?" He scoffed. "What about me, Ally? I can't just walk away like you want me to." The volume of his voice gradually increased during his rant and by the time he said his last words, he was two decibels away from yelling.

By now, the scene had caught more attention and people were tuning in. My back was to my friends and despite how hot my cheeks felt, I peered over my shoulder and gave them a nervous laugh that had boiled up in my throat. Returning my attention to "Gavin", I knew that if it was anyone else in this situation and gave that speech, I wouldn't have fooled anyone and their pets. He sounded desperate. He _looked_ desperate. Probably what I was like about an hour ago with the real Gavin.

I stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his chest. "Don't do this." My voice was hushed and raspy.

The amount of intensity in his stare made me almost forget that all of this was an act. "I wish I had more time to change your mind, but I can see that the decision has already been made. If you ever decide to hear me out, just...call me, okay?" He backed away and his shoulders sunk in defeat. As if I truly broke his heart. If he was an actor, he would've won his tenth one after tonight. His sister followed him out of the gym, but not before sending daggers at me. She most likely wasn't intending on solidifying his story, but her actions did.

After they both left the school, I stood there. I practically heard my heart beating out of my chest from how heavily I had been breathing. I attempted to force my face to return to its normal state.

Just then, a pair of arms wrapped around me.

"Oh my God, Ally," Trish's voice was soft and comforting. "I'm so sorry. What kind of jerk messes around with another girl and doesn't expect to get caught when she goes to the same school?"

"He's not a jerk, Trish," Which is true. He was the complete opposite of the definition of a jerk. I didn't even know his name and he willingly helped me despite the risks. No, he definitely was not a jerk. A jerk is someone that breaks up with you right before you walk through the doors to prom.

"You don't need to defend him. Don't you dare. Don't even take him back. You're much better than that and you deserve better." Absentmindedly, I nodded. But for some reason, my legs were tempted to just forget everything and run after him. Instead, I gave her a watery smile and turned back to everyone. Why was I feeling this way? I didn't even know this guy, and yet, it felt as if I had been dumped twice tonight.

I forced those feelings away because I had my friends and that's what matters right now. I sat back down next to Trish and rested my head on her shoulder. I instinctively glanced at Kira, but she wasn't looking back at me. Instead, her eyes were trained on the doors that fill-in Gavin just walked through. She had that distinct calculating expression and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head. But one thing's for sure. It wasn't going to benefit me as much as it would benefit her.

 **xxx**

It was no surprise to see my dad and stepmom waiting up for me, as per usual. Trish and her date dropped me off, but not before they tried to get me to hang out with them after prom. I thanked them for the offer but said that I wasn't really feeling too keen on it. I knew they were assuming it was because I wasn't crowned prom queen. Maybe it contributed to it; maybe it was the fact that Kira suddenly had a mood change from stone cold to Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows after hearing the announcement. Or it could've been the way I was feeling over a stupid boy. But I highly reject that last option.

The two of them were sitting on the couch, watching the eleven o'clock news. Jen, my stepmom, stretched her head back around to me. She also - not so subtly - looked behind me. I knew she was looking for Gavin.

"He already going home," I sighed while I placed my shoes on our shoe rack.

My dad got up and yawned. Okay, I was home. I was alive. He could go to bed now. "He could've at least had the manners to walk you up to the door," he said. He offered a small smile before kissing the top of my head.

Not really in the mood to relive the events of the night, I just shrugged. That, and I knew they would've attempted to hide (but fail) their overflowing content if I spilled the detail of my current relationship status. "I think I'm just going to wash all this makeup off and head to bed. Thanks for waiting up, you guys. You didn't have to."

I hugged the both of them and disappeared up the stairs. After walking into my room, I unzipped my dress and I watched it melt into a puddle on the floor. Why bother hanging it up when all the memories it has will forever haunt my nightmares? Yeah, I'll pass.

With all the makeup, that took nearly an hour, washed off and my teeth brushed, I sat at the front of my bed, leaning against my headboard. My eyes suddenly wandered over to my dress and a flash of hazel eyes projected into my mind. Well, so much for nightmares.

Why did he agree to be my fake date? If it wasn't my smile or desperateness, then what was it? Did I look cute? Not to toot my own horn, but tonight was probably the highlight of my life as far as physical appearances go. Curiosity swallowed me whole.

My legs found a mind of their own and I was then leaning down to pick up the dress. I draped it gently over my desk chair. Was I really thinking about his motives? Why should it matter? I'm tired. I needed sleep.

 _Come on, brain. Turn off. Stop overanalyzing. It's not like an entire half of school witnessed the fake breakup with fake Gavin. It's not like they're going to be talking about it tomorrow._

I stared at my wall. I didn't need anyone to feel sorry for me. I didn't want their pity. How do I prevent being showered by their empathy? Social media. I picked up my phone, being nearly blinded by the brightness.

 **Hello, single life! Oh how I've missed you. Whoever said a girl needs a man to make her happy can suck it. Got my girls and ice cream and I'm pretty goddang happy.**

There. Now everyone won't need to ask me if I'm alright. Because I am. I was. I stared at the post, an immense urge to tap the 'delete' button welled up in my chest.

Sleep. I just need to sleep. Everything's going to be fine in the morning. It will.

 **xxx**

 **well hello. I am alive just as Austin Moon is alive within Ross Lynch (im still shook wtf) ! I don't really know how to feel with this chapter...initially, I wanted to make it longer, but I decided that if I made it longer, the chapter would just be filled with unnecessary details. This is already a filler as it is, so I thought it was best to chop out a lot of it.**

 **also, quick sidenote, I did have an author's note posted here, but I did delete it. I guess some of you got notifications saying that I updated? idk but it wasn't an update :) I think a few people got confused. anyhoodle, that's all for now, folks! until the next update xD I promise the story will get far more interesting/entertaining soon! ALSOOOOOOO (sorry last thing hehe) i have a new story that I'm writing, lol hopefully I actually get off my lazy bum and keep writing bc I'm very interested and invested in its storyline.**

 **remember: spread love not hate because hate can't change the world.**

 **xx**

 **lecx**


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